The present invention relates to an intelligent table game system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a card dealing system incorporating playing cards with rank and suit information encoded thereon via micro-dots, and a shoe capable of reading such micro dots as a playing card is drawn from the shoe.
Card games in a casino are profitable, but are also prone to cheating and fraud by players, dealers and the pit crew. The fraudulent activity is therefore a significant source of the revenue losses at a casino. In order to prevent and/or mitigate these losses, casinos continue to identify and implement security features and enhancements. One such security device is a smart shoe that is capable of reading and tracking the rank and suit of playing cards which are drawn from the shoe. Such shoes may be capable of reading the rank characters and suit symbols directly from a standard playing card, or may read specialized data encoded on the playing card in some fashion.
1) Playing Cards
Playing cards may be encoded with encrypted information that is machine readable. Normally, such information is invisible to the naked eye so as not to interfere with the standard aesthetics or functionality of the card, and so as not to be easily discerned by players. The encryption typically contains information regarding the rank and suit of the card, or other information. These coded playing cards serve an important role in enhancing the security at card games in casinos. With encoded playing cards, smart game devices such as electronic shoes can decode the encryption and identify the card value (rank and suit). This prevents players or dealers from introducing fraudulent playing cards into the game which might provide the player or dealer with an unfair advantage.
Current encryption techniques use bar codes on the edges of cards or ultra violet (“UV”) reaction codes that are invisible to the naked eye. Bar codes are good encryption methods but compromise the aesthetics of the playing card. The UV reaction code based encryption techniques while addressing the customer need for enhanced security—are deficient and pose many process challenges. First, the codes are invisible and difficult to monitor in a production process, thus potentially compromising quality. Second, due to variability in the production (punching/cutting) of playing cards, there are occasions where the cut passes through the UV codes, thereby compromising the machine readability of the cards. To ensure machine readability of UV codes, the tolerances required on cut registration are restrictive and thereby generate a significant quantity of unusable or defective cards. Third, printing UV codes requires an extra step in the process, i.e., a separate printing plate with the UV codes has to be introduced into the process and an additional step is added in printing the codes with UV ink. This step is a significant cost addition to the printing of playing cards. Fourth, UV ink is highly sensitive to environmental conditions and ambient lighting. Temperature, humidity and fluorescent lighting degrade the intensity of the UV ink and thereby affect the reliability of machine readability of the encoded data. Fifth, the invisibility of UV inks aggravates the problem of smudging and could drastically affect the quality of the cards and their readability.
Thus, a better system of encoded information on playing cards invisibly to players is needed.
2) User Interface
Game tables at casinos currently use electronic shoes that read and decode card values from the coding on the cards. These electronic shoes have the necessary firmware programmed to decode, decide game outcomes, setup the equipment for game play and to diagnose problems with functionality or to reset alarms (used to alert the user/supervisor to improper use of the equipment). The firmware also provides security in terms of password protection to prevent tampering or improper use. The interface for the user with this firmware is through the use of a small LCD screen embedded on the side of the electronic shoe and associated buttons typically located on the back of the shoe.
3) Version Control
Current design of electronic shoes used at casinos requires a service technician to connect a laptop (computer) to the shoe in order to upgrade the shoe to a new/improved version of the firmware. This is a cumbersome, time consuming, manual process that also adds cost to the manufacturer via increased labor, and to the casino via downtime during upgrades. This can be quite costly, as casinos in Macau, for example, typically operate at an 85-90% occupancy rate at the tables. The downtime during the version upgrade could be very expensive to a casino given the large amounts of money wagered at these tables.
4) Language
English is the national language in the United States. However, casinos in Macau have surpassed Las Vegas as the most popular gaming locales in the world. Increasingly, casinos in South Korea and other East Asian countries as well as casinos in Latin America are becoming more attractive to gamblers. The electronic shoes used in these casinos currently require a working knowledge of English for the user to operate the equipment.
5) Electrical Power
Card game tables (such as those used in the playing of Baccarat or Blackjack, etc.) at casinos are very constrained environments. There are very few power outlets available to plug in all the necessary electronic equipment at the game table. An electronic shoe requires the need for an additional supply outlet to power the equipment. This would also require the use of a power surge protector to allow for safe and effective use of the equipment during power shutdowns. Supplying power therefore currently poses certain challenges. The layout of game tables can be compromised to ensure proximity to power supply and power surge protectors, and electronic equipment must be designed to accommodate variations in power supply, globally (e.g., 110V, 50 Hz in the US; 220V, 60 Hz in Macau, etc.).
6) Fault Tolerance (Card Gate) & Dealer Alert
Baccarat is purely a game of chance. The game is decided based on the cards dealt. Occasionally, the dealer of the game might mistakenly deal an extra card even after the game outcome has been decided by the cards dealt prior. In the design of current electronic shoes, an alarm would be sounded to alert the dealer that an extra card (card overdraw) had been dealt. The pit supervisor, at this point, would have to get to the game table and resolve the alarm and ensure that the game at the table resumes. Additionally, in one variation of the game of Baccarat called Commission Baccarat, when the banker wins, the dealer will collect a prescribed percentage of the wager as commission from the players who bet on the banker to win. There are occasions when the dealer of the game might not collect these commissions, as a result of oversight.